I’ll be honest: I am a picky eater. I dont’ like cheese. I don’t like mayonaise. I don’t like salad dressing, or sour cream, or liver. There’s a lot of other things I don’t like… I could list them but I’d rather not bore you. But one of them is also eggs. I never could get past their texture… or their smell. I WANTED to like eggs, I really did. I always thought they were fun to crack, and I love the way sunny-side up eggs look… so cute! But I didn’t like them.

When I started to eat paleo/primal, I noticed a lot of paleo meals involved eggs. Frittatas, omelets, scrambled eggs… the list went on. I felt like I was missing out on a very convenient source of protein. And then I came across this blog post that changed my outlook on eggs.

All I had to do to like eggs was disguise them as a pancake. It was genius. Just add a banana and BOOM. Success.

I’ll eat these anytime of day… it’s simple, easy, and doesn’t take much time. I’ve taken to calling them “Meggos” (you know, cus my name is Meghan and all..) but I didn’t come up with this recipe so who the hell do I think I am? Anyway… here’s the recipe:

All you do is:
1. Heat a frying pan on low-medium heat
2. crack and whisk 2 eggs
3. mash up 1 banana (I just use a fork) and add that mashed banana to the whisked eggs
4. I add a dash of vanilla extract and a good sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice to my batter to make it even better. Stir that batter up real good..
5. Melt some extra virgin coconut oil in the now-hot pan
6. Pour in some batter. let it sit until it’s firm enough to flip… this can be tricky and even with all the “pancakes” I’ve made, I still screw up and flip too early, too late, etc.
7. Cook on the other side about another minute or so… till it’s golden brown and done.

These are good. They’re not the same as ihop pancakes… but they are comforting, filling, and I really enjoy them.

I also like to take some frozen berries, heat them up in the microwave for about 45 seconds, and then mash them with a fork to make a quick berry-compote of sorts. Pour that on top and you got yourself some delicious berry paleo-friendly pancakes.

As a Dallas-native, I’ve eaten at nearly all of the Cafe Brazil locations across the metroplex. I really enjoy that restaurant, but I always get the same dish every time I go: Fruit Pancrepes. This is the description, as seen on Cafe Brazil’s menu:

I’ve tried a few times at re-creating Cafe Brazil’s fruit pancrepes… and I succeeded (or at least I did in my mind) back last year when I used an Alton Brown crepe recipe, some creme anglaise recipe I found online, and another raspberry sauce recipe I found somewhere else online. Those recipes are not paleo-friendly though… so I had to come up with a new approach. So I found this recipe from FastPaleo and improvised.

Paleo Crepes

And they aren’t half-bad. I follow the recipe directly from the FastPaleo version, with the only modification being that sometimes I like to add a dash of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon to the batter for a little extra niceness. After the crepes are made and arranged in their folded triangles on my plate, I try to capture the essence of Cafe Brazil’s fruit pancrepes by making my own paleo-version of creme anglaise sauce to pour on top. It’s pretty simple: mash up some berries of your choosing with a fork in a little bowl, pour in some canned coconut milk, stir it up, and pour that on your crepes. Add some extra berries/fruits to your liking. If you really need it, you could sweeten the creme sauce by adding a little honey or maple syrup…but I think the berries add enough sweet flavor.

There you have it. The paleo option for Cafe Brazil’s Fruit Pancrepes: my favorite brunch meal in Dallas.

I really like salmon. I also like convenience. Know what’s convenient? Those single-serving 4 or 5 oz pieces of salmon that come vacuum-sealed in the freezer section of your local food store. I put them in the fridge a day or so before I know I’ll use one, so it can defrost in the fridge. When strapped for time, they can defrost quicker by putting it (still sealed) in a bowl of water on the counter for about 30 minutes to an hour. Once defrosted, pat dry and just apply some olive oil on that baby, sprinkle on some spice, and you’re good to go. I found this recipe at PaleoEffect.com, and it’s great. Definitely worth a share…. and it’s nice to make your own spice blend so you know exactly what’s in it. Click here for the recipe!

One of the goals of this blog is to share delicious (and healthy) recipes. I’ve had several co-workers and friends ask me for recipes to try, so I hope this blog helps with that. Since I’m trying to stick with the Paleo diet right now, most recipes will be paleo/primal. And since the internet is already super-saturated with talented food bloggers, most of my recipes are ones I find online. Hopefully as I become a more seasoned cook, I’ll share highly-original, mind-blowingly awesome recipes that I create myself.

The first recipe I’d like to share is Paleo Japchae. For those of you who don’t know… Japchae is a delicious Korean dish that uses noodles (made from sweet potato), veggies, and meat. I had it for the first time at my boss’s baby shower… and I fell in love with the dish. It was so good, and I liked the different textures that the glass noodles, veggies, and meats offered. And really… it seemed like it could be a pretty healthy meal with a few adjustments. I decided I’d try to make a paleo version of it, so I googled “paleo japchae” and came across this recipe. Looked delicious, so I gave it a go… with a few adjustments. Instead of soy sauce, I used coconut aminos. And instead of sea food, I used chicken breast. And I didn’t cook the kelp noodles beforehand like the recipe originally called for. Here was the result:

Kelp Noodle Jap Chae

It was pretty damn good, and that’s why I’m sharing this recipe. Here’s a run-down of the recipe (with my modifications):

Cut the chicken breasts into chunks. In a large (I’m not kidding — it needs to be big!) saute pan, heat the sesame oil on medium. Once oil is hot, add the chicken chunks and cook until no-longer pink. Once the chicken looks about done, add the remainder of ingredients (except the sesame seeds). Constantly stir the spinach and mushrooms until they have wilted and browned, respectively. Then add the kelp noodles and sesame seeds. Continually stir for several minutes until the kelp noodles have absorbed the flavors in the saute pan and turn a nice light golden color.

Hope you enjoy. Kelp noodles are pretty cool actually — I’ve used them many times as a pasta substitue. They’re very neutral in flavor, and supposedly supply a good amount of iodine. They have a bit of a crunch to them — if you want it softer, you can boil the kelp noodles before using them in this recipe. That’s what the original recipe calls for — I just like my noodles al dente.